


Bright Light

by chennieforyourthoughts



Series: Highlight [2]
Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Implied/Referenced Homophobia, It's Pre-OT7, M/M, Minhyuk is the best moodmaker and that is /fact/., OT7
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-04
Updated: 2017-10-04
Packaged: 2019-01-09 03:13:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12267705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chennieforyourthoughts/pseuds/chennieforyourthoughts
Summary: Monsta X's concert in San Francisco does not end as they had anticipated.





	Bright Light

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that the "Manager" in this is _fictional_ and does **NOT** reflect Monsta X's actual manager. I mean no offense to their manager, or to any of the Starship staff.
> 
> Also, please note that I have tagged this for containing "Implied/Referenced Homophobia." There is a short summary of what happens in the end notes. ♥
> 
> [(Fanfic Disclaimer + More ♥)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chen_CHING/profile)

Hyungwon was gone. Well, not _gone_ , but backstage appeared empty with the dancer missing. The remaining six members fidgeted as their video began to play, the screaming of the fans deafeningly loud during the introduction.

“Hey, Kihyun hyung.” A quiet voice made Kihyun blink, realizing he had been staring at a curtain for the last minute. Changkyun stood on his right, features softened by the faint light filtering in from around the corner. “You’ll do great, we’re all sure.”

Kihyun couldn’t help but smile at that, affection chasing away some of the nerves. “Thanks Changkyun-ah! But if anyone’s going to kill it out there, it’ll be Hoseok.” It was dark enough to hide Hoseok’s faint blush, but Kihyun had the sneaking suspicion that Hoseok was more flustered by it than he let on. (That was good, Kihyun thought, for it’d take Hoseok’s mind off exactly how many people were screaming for them from just around the corner.) “Hyungwon-ah’s going to be so proud of his hyung!”

That was true— they’d convinced one of the staff members to Skype Hyungwon, who was back at the hotel, during the concert so he could see his group members perform from the outside for once.

Kihyun would deny this, but it was his suggestion and he’d be lying if he said it wasn’t a little bit to show Hyungwon how good Hoseok looked— and sounded— taking his parts. Was it jealousy to make him work to get better faster? Perhaps a slight amount, but it was probably how the two had been dancing around each other since their NO.MERCY days and Kihyun and the others were frankly getting sick of it.

(And Kihyun didn’t want to lose the money he’d bet on them getting together in San Francisco. There was something oftly romantic about the thought of them confessing to each other in the City by the Bay. Plus, the group chat created specifically for the purpose of making _#wonwon_ a reality would go absolutely crazy over it, and probably demand couples photos on the Golden Gate Bridge.)

The screen on stage dimmed, throwing the six into shadow. It was time to enter; one by one, they stepped onto stage. But before Kihyun could, someone caught his hand and held it tightly.

It was Hyunwoo. “Don’t forget the breathing we talked about,” he reminded, voice low and hushed in the silence, but it filled Kihyun with courage.

The lights kicked on, and the rap line opened the show with “Beautiful.” They’d had to practice that afternoon on the stage, adjusting their dances to fit the tiny space. It’d taken a great deal of adjustment, so much so that management was considering if they’d send the group back to the venue in the future. But that line of questioning faded away, the artists were sure, when their managers saw the sheer amount of _love_ the crowd had for them. The fans had learned every word of their songs, including the Korean, and sang with pitch that surprised all the members. (“You’re the eighth member of Monsta X!” They’d exclaim later that night during speeches, and the crowd would scream loudly enough to make their ears ring.)

But pitch was the one thing Kihyun struggled with. When his part came, he was thankful it wasn’t at the very beginning because he had never been given a chord to base it off. He listened to the other members, to the rap line riling up the fans who honestly didn’t need it and looked like they wanted to climb over the railing onto stage to join them (and probably hug them), to Hyunwoo and Hoseok who steadied him with their steady presences, and Kihyun went for it. He hit his part in tune, voice steady and strong.

To put it frankly, “Oi” was _hard_ , and the lack of clues towards the pitch did not help any of them at all. But once they found their footing, they kept going strong long after the sun had set.

It was directly after one of the more challenging stages when Kihyun started feeling the exhaustion slinking towards him and sinking low in his bones. He took a quick glance over at the others, and they also seemed to be feeling it but carried valiantly on. Hyunwoo would be sore the next day, Kihyun suspected, after his solo. (He’d jumped and then fallen into a perfect pair of splits on the landing and somehow, by some miraculous force, had _not_ ripped his pants. Kihyun longed for his flexibility.) Hoseok’s voice and body were both beginning to suffer after repeated nights of taking twice the parts, but although it hung heavily on him he bore it with his usual grace. Changkyun, Jooheon, and Minhyuk were all still bouncy (well, Changkyun wasn’t bouncy per-se, but he continued to have his usual amount of energy) but Kihyun suspected that as soon as they made it backstage they would crash.

Kihyun’s hands began to shake during his speech, and he tightened his grip on the microphone so he wouldn’t drop it. When he passed it off to the next member, Jooheon leaned over towards him. “You’re alright, hyung. You’re almost there.”

Following the meet and greet, all six made it onto the couches backstage before giving out. Jooheon fell with a groan onto one of them and Changkyun and Minhyuk found seats in the small space unoccupied by him. Kihyun stood for a moment, staring at the couch where Hoseok and Hyunwoo were seated, before Hoseok patted the space between them. “Kihyun-ah, I’m about to leave because I’m going out with Hyungwon, so come sit with Hyunwoo so he isn’t all alone.”

Minhyuk fell off the couch with a squawk in his haste to grab his phone, most likely to inform the group chat. “You’re going out with _Hyungwon?_ At this time of night?”

“Hyung, you should rest your voice,” Kihyun reminded, but it lacked any sort of reprimanding tone. Hoseok grabbed his bag and scrambled away. “Save a little bit for Hyungwon!” Jooheon and Minhyuk laughed loudly from across the gap, and if possible Hoseok moved even faster. A pair of arms wrapped around Kihyun and tugged him backwards, stealing the air from him.

“Hyunwoo hyung, I’m not a teddy bear.”

“No, you aren’t, but I do make a good pillow.” Hyunwoo was right— as soon as the initial surprise wore off, Kihyun realized that he _was_ rather comfortable. The noise of the rap line’s intense conversation with Minhyuk began to dim and fuzz, and when Hyunwoo noticed the younger’s drifting he carefully pulled Hoseok’s discarded jacket over him. Kihyun opened his eyes when Hyunwoo moved, but Hyunwoo ran gentle fingers through his hair and he was soon close to asleep again. “Sleep, Kihyun-ah— I’ll wake you up when it’s time to go.”

When Kihyun woke to find Hyunwoo in a heated argument with their manager, the first thought that came to mind was, _I didn’t think that’s what he meant about waking me up?_ But as he began to process the words of the fight, Kihyun was awake and already pushing Hoseok’s jacket off. He stepped up to stand next to Hyunwoo, who finally noticed that he was awake. “As Hyunwoo hyung said, Hoseok is with Hyungwon. They are mature and smart enough to know not to risk their public image.”

“It is not their public image I worry about; it is the public image of the group as a whole which worries me. If news of this…. _thing_ gets out, it will ruin you.”

Kihyun saw red.

He wasn’t sure how the argument ended, for the pulse pounding in his ears took over his hearing, but after some indefinite amount of time Hyunwoo grabbed ahold of his wrist and dragged him, along with their bags, out the door and into the vans. Minhyuk and Changkyun were seated in the middle two seats, all the blood drained from their faces; Jooheon was nowhere to be seen. Hyunwoo guided Kihyun into the passenger’s seat before climbing into the driver’s and slamming the door shut. The alleyway was empty, the Monbebes having already wandered home or back to their hotels, and Hyunwoo’s fingers tightened around the steering wheel.

“Hyung,” Changkyun murmured, and Hyunwoo and Kihyun’s cutting gazes met in the rearview mirror when they looked back at him. “Just get us back to them.”

The four walked from the elevator to their rooms, wanting to sprint but not wanting to attract unwanted attention or wake poor souls at quarter-past-two in the morning. Kihyun’s hands shook when he pressed his room key to the lock, and all were thankful the lock did not require any sliding of cards. The door unlocked with a chirp, but Hyunwoo still knocked before entering.

Hoseok was slumped aginst the bed, fully clothed and mascara running. Hyunwoo assumed that the shaking mass under the covers next to him was Hyungwon. “Hyungwon-ah?” Hoseok questioned, voice soft but broken. Kihyun couldn’t tell if it was from overexertion from the concert or from the events of the last hour. “The others are here.”

“Jooheonnie?” It was muffled by the covers, but the members were able to understand it.

“No Jooheonnie, but the hyungs and Kkukkungie are here.” Hoseok wiped at his eyes with the back of his sleeve, but Kihyun noted with despair that he only succeeded in smearing more black across his face.

Hyungwon’s head poked out from the side of the covers, and the four newcomers realized that this was one of the handful of times they had seen him cry. He shook as he worked on pulling himself together. “We-“

“We know,” Minhyuk said, and they watched in shock as Hyungwon _broke._

“Monsta X is going to have to step down because of me! Because I was _stupid_ and couldn’t keep myself in check and Manager nim and who knows who else saw, and Manager nim is going to cancel us.”

“I got back,” Hoseok began to explain, “and I stepped in the room and-“

“I climbed him like a tree-“

“But the blinds were open...."

“And our manager saw us from the sidewalk below.”

"At least we were only kissing," Hoseok said, but he was crying again. Hyungwon reached down through his own tears to wipe away Hoseok’s.

Minhyuk was the first to speak up again. “There’s one thing I’m confused about.” Everyone turned to focus on him, and he took a deep breath. “Hoseok!” The man in question stiffened, not even moving to blink. “How on _Earth_ did Hyungwon climb you like a tree when _he’s taller?”_

Hoseok threw his head back and laughed, and hope bloomed in Kihyun’s stomach as Hyungwon’s giggles filled the room.

“Through pure determination,” Hyungwon stated, and even Hyunwoo had to chuckle at that.

“Changkyun-ah, can you call Jooheon?” Changkyun blinked, surprised by Hoseok’s seemingly random request, but did so anyways. Within two minutes of their call, Jooheon was knocking on the hotel room door.

“I have food,” he announced, holding up an arm laden with takeout bags. “I had to buy bags because they wouldn’t sell me plastic here, so you’d better enjoy it.”

“What is it?” Minhyuk asked, drawn to the food like a magnet.

 _“Ramen,”_ Hoseok grinned like a kid in a candy store, able to identify its smell even through a bag and a plastic soup container.

“Right you are!” Jooheon exclaimed as he set the bags down on the table off to the side of the room. “Japanese ramen houses: blessings which are open at ungodly hours of the morning.”

When Hyungwon and Hoseok had (politely) kicked everyone out of their room, the five remaining members began wandering off in search of sleep. But Kihyun, who was supposedly Hyungwon and Hoseok’s roommate, stood in front of the doors, debating on which group to ask to room with— Hyunwoo or the Trio of Trouble.

“You can stay with us!” Minhyuk volunteered, but the leader was quick to veto that idea.

“I think Kihyun-ah will be staying with me,” Hyunwoo said, and Kihyun was equally thankful for being saved from having to room with three other people and dreading having to share the single bed with Hyunwoo.

His hesitation must have shown— as soon as the three had left, Hyunwoo turned to Kihyun. “You can go with them if you’re more comfortable with them,” he reminded, but Kihyun shook his head.

“I thought we stopped hating each other a while ago, hyung?”

With the look Hyunwoo gave him, Kihyun suddenly wasn’t sure of that fact. But then Hyunwoo laughed, short and a little quiet, but Kihyun sighed in relief. “Obviously,” Hyunwoo said. “Now, can you go grab your stuff or are you not willing to risk those two?”

Kihyun grimaced. “I think there are some things I’m better off not knowing,” he decided, and Hyunwoo smiled.

“Alright.”

“Alright.”

_And if Kihyun was surprised when Hyunwoo played with his hair again as he fell asleep, he most certainly didn’t mind it._

**Author's Note:**

> A short summary:  
> The passage starts with "When Kihyun woke to find Hyunwoo in a heated argument with their manager" and ends with "Minhyuk was the first to speak up again."  
> Hoseok and Hyungwon finally get their first kiss, but they forget to close the blinds and their manager sees them from the street below. It is unclear exactly how much he has seen, but he still threatens that the group will be finished if news of their relationship is revealed and the group's image goes down. Hyungwon blames himself for the uncertain future of the group until the others are able to convince him otherwise.
> 
> Thank you all for reading!


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